Lincecum injured, Giants lose

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Photo: Bob Levey, AP

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San Francisco Giants stater Tim Lincecum is assisted off the field by Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner after he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Houston Astros' Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008, in Houston. (AP Photo/Bob Levey) less

San Francisco Giants stater Tim Lincecum is assisted off the field by Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner after he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Houston Astros' Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning of a ... more

Photo: Bob Levey, AP

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San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum is checked by Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner after he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Houston Astros' Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning of a game Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008, in Houston. Lincecum left the game for x-rays. less

San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum is checked by Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner after he was struck by a line drive off the bat of Houston Astros' Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning of a game Tuesday, ... more

Photo: Bob Levey, AP

Lincecum injured, Giants lose

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"Tim Lincecum is hurt" are four words no Giants fan wanted to read or hear.

The franchise held its collective breath because The Franchise limped off the field in the fifth inning, having been drilled by a scorching line drive off the bat of Houston's Brad Ausmus.

Lincecum was hit on the side of his right knee and was taken from Minute Maid Park for X-rays, which proved negative. It wasn't determined if he'll make his next start, but he was walking in the clubhouse after the game, a sign of comfort for the Giants on an otherwise rotten night.

In Lincecum's absence, they turned a 3-2 lead into one of their ugliest losses of the year. After the Astros celebrated their sixth straight victory and 10th in 12 games, Giants manager Bruce Bochy cited deficiencies with his offense, defense and bullpen.

"We didn't' make a pitch. We didn't make a play, really all night. It was a tough game defensively, and we've still got to find a way to have a big inning," Bochy said. "Walks are killing us. It seems every time there's a big inning (for the opponent), a walk is included."

Bochy called Lincecum's diagnosis "the only good news we got tonight."

In a Giants season with few redeeming qualities other than the introduction of some promising youth, Lincecum has been the main storyline, the face of the future, the front-and-center guy as the Giants try to rebound from the Barry Bonds era.

He's an All-Star and Cy Young Award candidate, and his innings on the mound have been "must see," comparable in many ways to Bonds at-bats. Well under 6 feet and well under 200 pounds, Lincecum captured hearts of Giants fans with his tiny build and explosive repertoire.

He had seven more strikeouts before the injury and fanned all three batters in the fourth inning, leaving him with 182 K's on the season, tops in the majors. He also singled with two outs in the fourth and scored from first on Randy Winn's double.

Lincecum is nine games above .500 on a team that's 18 under. Take away his record, and the Giants are 38-65. In a way, Tuesday was a microcosm of the season. Without him, the Giants had little to offer. They didn't score another run until Aaron Rowand homered with two outs in the ninth, after the bullpen had surrendered 10 runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

"We were all worried about Timmy and happy that it wasn't a fracture," Rowand said. "I don't think that affected the way we finished up the game."

In the seventh, Jack Taschner inherited three runners with one out. All scored. Taschner faced four batters. They all scored, too. He gave up four hits, including Lance Berkman's grand slam. Geno Espeneli replaced Taschner and gave up homers to Ty Wigginton in the seventh and Hunter Pence in the eighth.

Lincecum, who didn't make himself available to the media after the game, will spend the next couple of days icing his knee - which is something new for him, considering he doesn't ice his arm after games.

In retrospect, he had little time to defend himself against Ausmus' liner, which ricocheted off his knee to first baseman John Bowker for the out. Lincecum rolled over, and trainer Dave Groeschner rushed to the scene, followed by manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti.

Before his exit, Lincecum gave up one hit, and one of the two runs he surrendered in the third inning was unearned, thanks to an error by second baseman Emmanuel Burriss, who tried to barehand a grounder. Fred Lewis and Ivan Ochoa also looked iffy on defense.

Tuesday marked the sixth time this season the bullpen blew a Lincecum lead. The first five cost him victories. Tuesday, he wasn't eligible for a win because he didn't complete five innings.

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